Every Christian Is a Minister
By Rick Warren
“God ... has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (Ephesians 2:10 TLB).
God did not put you on Earth just to live for yourself. He wants you to make the world a better place!
Every time I hear somebody say, “I live for the weekends,” I want to say, “Then why should God keep you alive?” If you’re not fulfilling your purpose, you’re missing the whole point of life.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “God ... has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (TLB).
There’s a word for this: ministry. Every Christian is a minister. Not every Christian is a pastor, but every Christian is to be a minister. That means you use your talents and gifts to make a contribution in life, to be a giver, not a taker.
The Bible says 58 times, “Love one another. Care for one another. Pray for one another. Encourage one another. Help one another. Counsel one another. Support one another” and on and on. It is the mutual ministry of every believer in the family of God to every other believer in the family of God. That’s the way God meant for it to be.
The truth is, serving God by serving others is not always easy. Sometimes you’re going to get discouraged. So what do you do when you start to get discouraged? You remember two things.
First, you remember that you’re going to receive a reward that’s going to go on for eternity. The Bible says that God “will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers” (Hebrews 6:10b NLT, second edition).You’re going to be rewarded in eternity.
The second thing to remember is that God uses every little thing. Nothing is insignificant when you serve God. None of it is in vain. “Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless” (1 Corinthians 15:58 TEV).
Playtoday’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
Talk It Over
- Would you characterize yourself as more of a giver or a taker in the family of God?
- Why is it often difficult to serve other people?
- What is a seemingly small or insignificant thing God has asked you to do in ministry toward which you need to change your attitude?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Daily Inspiration for The Purpose Driven Life - Gift Edition
Would you like to help your friends and family live the Purpose Driven Life? One of the best ways to stay focused on God’s plan is to stay in God’s Word, and Pastor Rick Warren has an effective resource that will enable YOU to quickly find Bible verses that are indispensible for living a life of purpose.
We call this resource Daily Inspiration for The Purpose Driven Life. In it, Pastor Rick has taken all the key verses that explain how God created each of us for five purposes and put them into an easy-to-use reference tool that will help anyone study and memorize God’s Word.
When you give a gift to support Daily Hope this month we’ll send you a copy of this beautiful book… and if you choose to make your donation a monthly donation, we’ll send you a special signed copy of Daily Inspiration for The Purpose Driven Life to thank you for joining our Partner in Hope team by giving a scheduled gift each month to support Daily Hope.
Thanks for supporting Daily Hope. Your generosity helps us to teach others about God’s plan for their lives — and, thanks to you, we’re taking that message all across the world.
This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can also listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
